GARRIOCH: Young Ottawa Senators stumble to the midpoint of the season

As the Senators hit the midpoint of the NHL season with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, the club’s season-high losing streak extended to six games, and they need to dig down to deep to find their way out of this.

While general manager Pierre Dorion, coach Guy Boucher and the players knew there were going to be days like this when the club decided undergo this rebuild, it’s a lot easier to talk about it than experience it as Ottawa sits 30th overall with 35 points.

Preparing to open the second half of the season with home games Saturday against the Minnesota Wild and Sunday versus the Carolina Hurricanes before heading to California, the Senators can only hope for better days ahead after a challenging first half.

“You can’t roll over in this league. Nobody is feeling sorry for you,” alternate captain Mark Stone told this newspaper after the loss to the Canucks. “The teams that are coming in are trying to do the same thing as you, and nobody is out of the playoffs right now.

“We’ve got to find ways to win games. Teams we play are going to try to do the same thing as us. Trying to make the playoff is the ultimate goal.”

‘I think we’ve just got to wipe the slate clean here a little bit,’ alternate captain Mark Borowiecki said of the club’s situation as it moves into the second half of the season.Jay LaPrete /
AP

Heading into Thursday night’s action, the Senators were ranked last in the Eastern Conference and were 12 points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final wildcard spot. That means the best bet for the club is to play for pride in the last half of the year.

The Senators had actually played above expectations heading into December, but since then the club has struggled mightily. Not only have they had their share of difficulties defensively, injuries to the likes of Thomas Chabot, Craig Anderson and Christian Jaros have made it tougher.

In 15 games since Dec. 1, the Senators have a 4-9-2 record, and that, in itself, has taken them out of any conversation for the post-season, and the key now is to try to make something out of this year.

“I think we’ve just got to wipe the slate clean here a little bit,” alternate captain Mark Borowiecki said. “It would have been nice to start 2019 with a win. That didn’t happen, but I think we moved in the right direction a little bit towards the second half of the game (against the Canucks).

“But we have to learn from our mistakes. We need to be better defensively as a group, as individuals and learn from that, but do our best to kind of erase that first half and see what we can string together here.”

When the Senators decided to undergo a rebuild and sent captain Erik Karlsson packing in camp, Dorion indicated he wanted to see “progression” with the young players, and if that happened then he’d be pleased with the way the year had gone.

There’s been no shortage of negatives so far in the 2018-19 season, but there have been positives, too, including the recent play of goalie Marcus Hogberg.Fred Chartrand /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

There has been concern about the way Boucher has used young players in the past, but he’s bought into the program and the club’s prospects are getting a good chance to play in different roles. If they make mistakes, they are given the opportunity to play again.

You could have predicted Chabot was going to have a breakthrough season, but you can be excused if you didn’t see blueliner Max Lajoie in this group. Forward Colin White has made great progress and top rookie Brady Tkachuk has made an impact.

Injuries to goalies Anderson (concussion) and Mike Condon (hip) have forced the Senators to give rookie goalie Marcus Hogberg the opportunity to be the club’s top goalie.

Boucher has seen the young players get better and he knows the Senators are going to see the fruits of their labour quickly.

“This is Lajoie’s first NHL season and we’re asking him to play against top players every night,” Boucher said. “There’s 10 minutes where he looks great and then there’s 10 minutes where their better players get the best of those guys.

“But that’s why, over time, when they’re 23, 24 or 25 years old, the minutes that they’re getting now are really going to pay off. But to say there’s going to be growth, where every game you get a constant, that’s not true and it’s not true for anybody.

“You’re down, you’re up, but as long as you look over a month, two months or three months to look for the growth, you see it. That’s clear for all of our young guys.”

The veterans on this team are trying to help lead the way.

“They’re playing big roles and big minutes,” said Borowiecki. “If you had told me Marcus Hogberg would come up here and played the way he has, I wouldn’t have believed you in terms of training camp.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys who are coming in and stepping into roles that are tough, and they’re doing a good job for the most part. It’s impressive to watch. My first few callups and first few times in the NHL, I was nervous, timid and hesitant. That applies to that whole group of young guys here.”

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.